A Chicago plumbing subcontractor has suspended operations and laid off 25 union workers after being left nearly $4 million unpaid for work on the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Mike Owen, owner of Adamson Plumbing Contractors, said years of delays, design changes, rework, and unpaid invoices pushed the company to the brink of collapse.
The decision to halt all work came just days after the center's public opening last month, with Owen calling it painful but necessary to avoid outright bankruptcy.
Owen said the company had to walk away from roughly half a dozen other projects to prevent further financial damage.
He filed a $1.72 million mechanic's lien against the Jackson Park property, while saying the total loss tied to the project approaches $3.9 million.
The final straw came when partial payments promised for last-minute overnight plumbing work failed to arrive on time.
Owen said the company had completed all required paperwork and waivers, only to have the payment skipped entirely.
"It was the final death blow for us," Owen said, adding that the missed payment left suppliers unpaid and made continuing work impossible.
He expressed frustration that no political figures or foundation representatives have publicly addressed the payment dispute.
Costs on the presidential center project ballooned from an original estimate of around $350 million to over $850 million, with reports suggesting the total has exceeded $1 billion.
The foundation secured a 99-year lease on 19.3 acres of public parkland for a one-time payment of $10.
Adamson Plumbing is not the first contractor to raise concerns about the project, as another subcontractor previously filed a $40 million racial discrimination lawsuit connected to the construction.
